Adoration with green bakelite base, white ferrule, and 29-30mm hole

So I was surfing the web, searching for brushes, when I came across this beauty. Since the color in the seller's original listing was quite dark, I had to really look closely to be sure the base was bakelite, and within 5 minutes my indecisive mind was made. I had to buy it. The price was incredible, and when I received it, the deal was even sweeter. I paid $8.50 for this brush, and the seller noticed that I had added a white Certifyd that he was selling to my wishlist- which he ended up sending me for FREE!

Here are some shots of the brush on arrival. I'll add more pics of my progress a little later.

Alright, so the shots of the handle are pretty boring, and lackluster. Here is what the handle looks like after my first round of sanding/polishing. I plan to work out all of the butterscotching, as I personally prefer to have my green handles green. There is a crack that looks like it goes clear through the handle, but the handle is very stable so maybe someone repaired the crack whenever it happened. I'm going for the most restored look I can get out of this brush, and for $8.50, I consider the crack a bit of character- a piece of the history of this brush that I can't restore away, and I like it.

Also, I forgot to mention, the bakelite portion of the handle is solid, not hollow like the Ever Ready brush bases. I believe that this brush is worth at least its weight in bakelite.

Here's why I really decided to sand this handle. I wanted the dents and dings gone, but then I started to like the color that I was uncovering.








The color looks a little odd under my bathroom lights, but it looks great in person.


A little before, and during comparison.

Love how thats coming along! That is such a vibrant green!

Excellent work and beautiful handle. Was the hole 28 mm to start with or did you expand it?

Geezlouize I'm liking that color! Nice snag!!

Thanks for the compliments.

GDCarrington said:

Excellent work and beautiful handle. Was the hole 28 mm to start with or did you expand it?

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I haven't really touched the hole yet. I just pulled the knot out with my bare hands. The hole is actually over 29mm, and I think closer to 30mm. I'm wondering if I should expand it, or set a 28mm knot to a shorter loft. Suggestions?

Wow that is gorgeous. Can't wait to see this done.

Beautiful handle! Thanks for posting the pics!

theretroshave said:

Thanks for the compliments.



I haven't really touched the hole yet. I just pulled the knot out with my bare hands. The hole is actually over 29mm, and I think closer to 30mm. I'm wondering if I should expand it, or set a 28mm knot to a shorter loft. Suggestions?

Click to expand...

I just did a 28 mm Silvertip for another member and they are very large. A 30 mm would be a very large brush regardless of knot type.
The ACE 28 mm that I did was set at 54 mm and it was reported back to me as having excellent backbone at that loft and was a real good looker when bloomed out.

A 28 mm with a 52 mm loft would look great and should have plenty of backbone with the knot size depending on the source of the knot.

Good fortune with it. It is coming out great.

GDCarrington said:

I just did a 28 mm Silvertip for another member and they are very large. A 30 mm would be a very large brush regardless of knot type.
The ACE 28 mm that I did was set at 54 mm and it was reported back to me as having excellent backbone at that loft and was a real good looker when bloomed out.

A 28 mm with a 52 mm loft would look great and should have plenty of backbone with the knot size depending on the source of the knot.

Good fortune with it. It is coming out great.

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Thanks for the compliment sir. After reading your recommendation, I've done some more reading on the Ace knots, specifically Arley's review from January 1, 2013 of a brush you did for him using a 22mm Ace knot. I read many glowing praises of the Ace knots, and I think I'm going to give one a try. I must ask though, is there any reason why I shouldn't get the 29mm knot? I really want to go big with this brush.

theretroshave said:

Thanks for the compliment sir. After reading your recommendation, I've done some more reading on the Ace knots, specifically Arley's review from January 1, 2013 of a brush you did for him using a 22mm Ace knot. I read many glowing praises of the Ace knots, and I think I'm going to give one a try. I must ask though, is there any reason why I shouldn't get the 29mm knot? I really want to go big with this brush.

Click to expand...

The brush I used simply did not have enough clearance for it. If you have the clearance, and I think you do, go for it. However, that 28 mm was a beast so don't say I did not warn you.

Beautiful brush. Great find and great work!

That green bakelite is gorgous - I can't wait to see the final product.

Looks great!

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Here's an update shot. I think I'm finished with polishing it. Now I just need to tape around the hole, remove the junk inside (pushed on the glue material with my pocket knife, while holding the handle, and the glue just snapped free, and popped out. Notice the solid looking top of the green bakelite peeking through the glue inside the hole.), order a knot, and glue it in. I'll probably add some enamel to the lettering too. Oh, and this picture is the closest representation of the true color that I could produce. It's kind of an emerald green. Really gorgeous. Serious eye candy.

That's really a unique handle and it is indeed eye candy. Great job of polishing and scratch removal. That's where all the work is (and rewards). As far as knot choice goes, I say, go big or go home! Put the biggest knot you can jam into that beauty. You won't regret it. Looking forward to seeing her all bloomed up.

Ronnie

Stunner! And some really nice brushes in your collection.

It's finished! I just passed the 24 hour cure time for the knot. Since I last posted, I decided to sand the handle out a little more, evening out the green Bakelite a bit better. I also painted in the lettering, re-polished the ferrule to clean up after the paint, and set my knot, which arrived on Saturday (15 days to arrive from China). I ordered an Ace Shaving 29mm Silvertip knot, and I have to agree with Arley (Azarius), this thing has the softest tips I've ever touched. I'll have to report back after I've used the brush, but I expect great things. Here's the finished product.

Here are some of the shots I took after my final polishing, about two weeks ago at sunset. These are just to show how polished the handle is/was.



I like this one the best.

Amazing work. I love that green handle!!!